Master and Student Part Ways
by MasterFirebender84
Summary: Avatar Korra has passed her Firebending test, & now she can begin her Airbending training with Tenzin in Republic City. Before she leaves the Fire Nation, she finds that she has to say goodbye to a very special person...her Waterbending teacher, Katara.


I'm baaaaack! :D Yes, I'm _finally_ done with all of my finals, and just in time for Christmas Break. I don't go back to school until Jan 9, so until then I have a LOT more free time to do some writing. :) So, in honor of my return to writing, I give you a little oneshot that actually takes place during the first epsiode of "Avatar: Legend of Korra". There was a short little clip with the first minute and a half of the first epsiode, which included Korra finishing up her Firebending training. This oneshot takes place after that clip, and for those of you don't know...well, I won't ruin the surprise for you. ;) Let us delve into the world of Avatar once more, my friends! Please enjoy and review! :D

Oh, and before you ask, no, that clip is no longer available. :P

**DISCLAIMER**: I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender. The show and its characters belong to Mike and Bryan, the brillant geniuses behind one of the greatest cartoon shows in the history of cartoons. Their work is legendary, and I salute them for it. I also do not own Avatar: Legend of Korra or any of the characters associated with it. I a merely a fanboy who is eagerly awaiting the return of one of the greatest shows ever created.

**Master and Student Part Ways**

Korra practically sprinted back to her quarters, her training helmet still in her hand and her maroon armor pressing against her clothes as the sun shone bright above in the cloudless skies. As soon as she had left the training area, she broke out running, wanting to get packed as soon as she could. A joyous smile was plastered on her youthful face, her athletic lungs inhaling and exhaling the cool air that ruffled through her hair.

She rounded a corner and came upon her quarters, a lone one-story house with a roof of gilded gold and wooden sides. Resting outside of her house was her Animal Guide, a female Polar Bear-Dog named Naga, who was already equipped with Korra's riding saddle. Upon hearing the pounding of her master's footsteps, Naga looked up with an excited bark as her tail started happily wagging. Smiling even harder as she ran up to her animal companion, Korra dropped her helmet and hugged Naga's neck, jubilantly proclaiming, "I did it, Naga! I passed my Firebending test!"

Naga barked her cheerful congratulations as Korra let go of her neck, planting a sloppy tongue-kiss on the young Avatar's tan cheek. Giggling like a child, Korra playfully said, "Come on, Naga! I don't want to get my training outfit wet!" She kept giggling and chuckling as Naga kept planting wet kisses on her face, leading Korra to finally relent and say, "All right, all right! You win!" As Naga leaned back her head and started panting, Korra reached up and started affectionately scratching Naga's neck, lovingly saying, "Who's the best Polar Bear-Dog in the world? You are, yes you are!" Naga's panting grew heavier with relieved pleasure as Korra kept scratching her neck, very much enjoying the attention her master was giving her.

"It seems to me that you've haven't been paying much attention to Naga lately," mirthfully chuckled a voice from behind Korra. The Avatar stopped moving her hands as she turned around to see a familiar face walk towards her. The person was an old woman with hair as white as the snow that fell on Korra's homeland, two hair loopies framing the slightly-wrinkled and yet still beautiful tan face. She wore a heavy parka, her arms tucked into the sleeves of the clothing. A kind yet playful smile graced her withered lips, and her sapphire eyes sparkled with vivacious light. Just beneath the edge of her hooded collar sat her betrothal necklace, which Korra could just make out underneath the outlining fur of the hood.

Korra smiled at the newcomer, having recognized who she was. Turning towards her, Korra asked, "What makes you say that, Master Katara?"

Stopping just before Korra, Katara smirked and said, "I know you all too well, Korra. You've been working day and night on your Firebending for the past two days so that you could pass your Firebending test." Gesturing to Naga, she added, "From what I just saw, Naga seemed to really miss you during that time."

Naga whimpered, as if to confirm Katara's statement, causing Korra to look back at her Animal Guide. "I'm sorry, girl," sincerely apologized Korra as she reached up behind Naga's floppy ears, scratching the back of Naga's head as she softly smiled. "I didn't mean to make you feel left out. I just really wanted to pass my Firebending test." Giving Naga a smalls smirk, she added, "You know how I get when I'm really into my bending training." Naga leaned her head down towards Korra and licked her cheek, which Korra happily took as a sign of forgiveness. "Thanks, Naga," gratefully said Korra, giving her furry friend a warm kiss on her black snout. Dropping her hands from Naga's head, Korra turned towards Katara and said, "Better now, Master?"

"Most definitely better," replied Katara with a satisfied smile. She looked up and down Korra's body, as if trying to size up Korra. When she was finished, she sighed and said, "You've come a long way since the South Pole, Korra."

"No kidding," chuckled Korra as she leaned back, letting herself fall against Naga's chest. She folded her arms behind her head, her armor shifting slightly as she leaned back against Naga and crossed her right leg over her left leg. Once she was settled, Korra said, "Just over a year ago, I was back home practicing my Waterbending with you." Gesturing to their surroundings, she added, "Now here I am in the heart of the Fire Nation, getting ready to move on to the next phase of my Avatar training." Seeing a fond smile spread itself across Katara's lips, Korra raised an inquisitive eyebrow and asked, "What are you thinking about, Master?"

"I was thinking about how much you've grown since I first took you on as my student," replied Katara. "It just seems like yesterday that you were just a little girl beginning her Waterbending training."

"And I was your top student, wasn't I?" asked Korra with a smile, remembering all the years she had spent training under Katara in the ways of Waterbending, which had been restored to the Southern Water Tribe after the Hundred Year War. Katara and her step-grandfather, Pakku, were the key figures in restoring the ancient art to the South Pole; now, Katara was one of the few masters left from her time. From an early age, Korra was taught by Katara in the ways of Waterbending. Soon after Korra's identity as the Avatar was revealed, Katara accompanied Korra on her Avatar journey.

"That you were," agreed Katara with a nod. "And you still are." The Master Waterbender sighed again, closing her eyes and touching a reverent hand to her necklace as she sadly frowned. Korra took on a respectful countenance, knowing that this was something her teacher did often. Whenever she saw Katara touch a hand to her necklace, she knew that her teacher was silently communicating with her deceased husband: Korra's predecessor, Avatar Aang. Whenever Korra saw her teacher do this, she felt a small twinge of guilty pain in her chest, knowing that her own life had been made possible because of Aang's death.

When Katara finally opened her eyes and dropped her hand from her necklace, Korra said, "I can't imagine how much you still miss Aang."

"More than you could ever know, Korra," sadly replied Katara with a forlorn frown, turning her face skyward, as if she could spot her beloved husband in the clouds. "Even sixteen years after his death, my heart has never stopped missing him, never stopped loving him. He was my entire life: my joy, my laughter, my happiness, my eternal love…_everything_." Bitter tears stung Katara's eyes, threatening to break loose as her sorrow increased to agonizingly painful levels.

Korra hated to see the woman she admired so much and aspired to impress become so saddened over the loss of one so important and so close to her heart, knowing that the she was the reason why her master was so sad. She had to fight to keep her tears back as she guilty said, "I'm sorry, Master. I didn't mean to upset you."

Katara let out a half-laugh, half-sob as she looked down, softly smiling as she gingerly wiped away the tears in her eyes. Taking a deep breath, Katara said, "There's nothing to be sorry about, my dear."

Korra leaned forward and rested her arms on her legs, saying, "But _I'm_ the reason why Aang's gone, remember? For one Avatar to be born, the one before has to die. Aang had to die so that I could be born." Her efforts to restrain her tears failed, as was indicated by the wet droplets that streaked down her cheeks. Not wanting to appear weak in front of Katara, she quickly wiped away her tears with rough swipes of her hands.

Chuckling at Korra's effort to wipe away her tears, Katara kindly said, "Korra, you know I don't blame you for Aang's death. My husband and I both knew that his time in this world was short, and I was ready when he passed on into the Spirit World."

"But I can still feel how much he loved you," protested Korra, getting up off of Naga. "Every now and then, I get these brief, powerful flashes of raw emotion, like…like someone else is inside of me, and it always happen whenever I'm around you." Korra shook her head, trying to sort out her thoughts so she could try and explain herself better. "I don't know how else to say it, but that's what happens."

Katara thoughtfully hummed, gazing upon Korra with attentive eyes. She wearily sighed and said, "I'm sorry, Korra, but the spiritual matters of the Avatar aren't really my strongest area of expertise, despite the fact that Aang was my husband. From what I can tell, Aang is trying to get into contact with you." Seeing the helpless look on Korra's face, Katara said, "Like I said before, if there's anyone who can teach you about the spiritual side of bending, it's Tenzin."

"But can Tenzin really teach me how to be a more spiritual person?" asked Korra. "I thought he was an Airbending Master, not a spiritual guru."

Katara gave a light chuckle as she smirked and said, "Airbending is the most spiritual of the bending arts. Plus, Aang taught everything he knew to Tenzin about the Air Nomads, including their vast spirituality." Gesturing to Korra, she added, "Like you said before, the spiritual side of bending doesn't come as easily to you as the physical side of bending does. You even said yourself that Tenzin was 'Mr. Spiritual'."

Korra sheepishly smiled and shrugged as she said, "Well, yeah, I know I said that, but…that's only because you've told me so much about him during our travels. From the way you made it sound, it made Tenzin seem like the Guru Pathik of our time."

Katara merrily laughed at Korra's statement, the sound of her merriment carrying all throughout the training complex. "Did I really make it seem that way?" chuckled Katara with a giddy smile.

"Just a little," admitted Korra with a small smile.

"Well," said Katara, "Tenzin is very special to me, just like all of my children are. Tenzin was the first Airbender to be born in over a hundred years, and all of Aang's secrets have been passed on through him. It's because of my son that the Avatar still has an Airbending teacher, and why Airbending will once again thrive in the world after so long."

"Speaking of Airbending," thoughtfully said Korra, "doesn't Tenzin have three Airbending kids?"

"That he does," affirmed Katara. "There's Jinora, the oldest daughter; Ikki, the middle child and youngest daughter; and Meelo, the youngest child and the only son so far. Right now, Tenzin's wife Pema is pregnant with their fourth child."

"Wow," amusedly chuckled Korra, "Tenzin sure is a busy guy, isn't he?"

"One could say that," agreed Katara with a hearty chuckle. "He's really not much different from his father. After all, I had three children with Aang, with Tenzin being the youngest." Gesturing to Korra, she added, "Don't you forget that you're old enough to be considered eligible for marriage. Who knows? Maybe in a year or two or three, you could be married and having children of your very own."

"Trust me, Master," said Korra as she crossed her arms and rolled her eyes, "marriage is the _last_ thing on my mind right now."

"Oh come on, Korra," playfully admonished Katara as she walked up next to Naga, petting the artic creature behind the ear. "You're a very attractive young woman, one who's full of charm, spunk, and a playful liveliness and wit that any man would find appealing." Reminiscently chuckling, she added, "What about all those fine Earthbenders in Ba Sing Se who tried so hard to win your heart?"

"Well," admitted Korra as she also reached up and scratched Naga's chin, "they were great guys, all of them incredibly sweet and kind-hearted, but…I'm just not looking for a man right now." The young Avatar shrugged her shoulders as she said, "Love's just really not on my mind right now, that's all. I want to become a fully realized Avatar before I do anything else, and the only way to do that is to focus on my training with Tenzin."

"Love always ends up finding you, one way or another," wisely said Katara as she continued to pet Naga. "But you're right; you should just try and focus on your Avatar duties at the moment." Giving Korra a wistful smirk, she added, "But that doesn't mean I don't want my favorite student to find a man of her own to love."

"Oh come on, Master," said Korra with a light laugh, "you know I'm not the romantic type."

"You'd be surprised at how people can change when they're in love," said Katara, moving her hand to scratch underneath Naga's chin, "and how much they can retain their own identity, despite the fact that they're in love. Your man is somewhere out there, Korra; you just have to open your eyes."

"I'll try," promised Korra with a begrudging sigh, though she still smiled at her teacher nonetheless. Katara was always so positive and optimistic when it came to Korra's love life, it made her seem more of a motherly figure rather than her Waterbending teacher. Secretly, Korra rather liked having Katara be so interested in what was going on in her life; it helped to progress their relationship far beyond that of just master and student. Instead, it was if they were the oldest of friends, despite the massive gap in age between the two of them. "So," said Korra as she continued to show her affections for Naga, "when do we leave for Republic City?" Katara stopped petting Naga, much to Korra's surprise. "What's wrong?" asked Korra, taking on a worried tone.

"I'm afraid you'll have to make this last part of your Avatar journey on your own with Naga," said Katara, causing Korra's head to jump back a little in surprise.

"But why?" asked Korra, very much stunned by Katara's revelation. "You've always been there by my side: the South Pole when I was learning Waterbending, Ba Sing Se during my Earthbending training, and now here in the Fire Nation with my Firebending training."

"There's nothing else I can teach you now," said Katara, a melancholy light shining in her wondrous eyes. "Tenzin's going to your teacher, not me. He'll be the one to teach you the spiritual side of bending, not me."

"But…" began Korra, though she trailed off as she sadly looked down at the ground. Naga whimpered slightly and licked Korra's hand, sensing that her master was upset about something.

"But what?" asked Katara, worried that she had greatly upset her pupil.

Korra looked up and softly said, "I was hoping you'd come to Republic City with me, to see me go through my Airbending training. Since Aang was my predecessor, I'm learning his birth element of Air last. I just thought that…that maybe by me learning Airbending, I would be paying an honorable tribute to your husband. I know how much Aang meant to you, and that's why I wanted to make you proud while you watched me learn how to Airbend from Tenzin."

Katara gratefully smiled at Korra, stepping towards her student and taking her young hands into her elderly ones, lightly squeezing them as she sincerely said, "That is extremely thoughtful and considerate of you, Korra, but I don't need to see you learn Airbending to know how proud I am of you and how much Aang would be honored to have been succeeded by someone like you." Warmly smiling at Korra, she added, "I've had the honor of teaching two Avatars in my lifetime: one who was the love of my life, and one who's like a daughter to me." Korra tearfully smiled at Katara, and soon the two women embraced one another. "You've always made me proud, Korra, even if you aren't my real daughter" said Katara as they remained wrapped up in their embrace. "Never forget that."

"I won't, Master," choked out Korra, not caring if the tears were streaming down her cheeks. It was true; Katara was like her a mother to her, the person she always wanted to be proud of her.

Katara chuckled once more as they separated from their embrace, still holding Korra by her shoulders as she affectionately said, "You don't need to always call me 'Master', my dear. You can call me 'Mom', if you want. "

Korra smirked as she sniffed and said, "All right, _Mom_." The two of them embraced once more as they chuckled at their shared joke, and Korra said, "I'm really going to miss you, Katara."

"And I shall miss you too, Korra," truthfully said Katara in return, the two of them giving the other a light squeeze before they separated again. "Maybe once you're done with your Airbending training, I can come visit you and see what Tenzin has taught you."

"You'll be the first to know," assured Korra with a cheeky smile. She cupped her right fist in her left hand and bowed to Katara, saying, "Thank you for everything, Master Katara. I won't forget the things you've taught me, and how you've changed me during our time together."

Katara likewise bowed and said, "It was my immense pleasure to teach you, Avatar Korra." The two of them came out of their bows as Katara said, "You're a fine young woman, and I'm honored to have been your teacher and companion on your Avatar journey." The two women smiled at one another, both biting back the words that they knew were coming. "Good-bye, Korra," finally said Katara, though her voice was heavy with emotion.

"Good-bye…Mom," replied Korra with just as heavy of a voice, feeling the stinging tears assault her eyes once more. They both gave each other supportive smiles before Katara walked off in the direction of the docks, leaving Korra to stare at her teacher's back. Once Katara rounded the bend, Korra let up the pent-up sob she had been holding back. Feeling Naga concernedly moan and nudge her back with her snout, Korra wiped away her tears and said, "I'm fine, Naga."

Despite the aching pain in her heart, Korra went into her temporary house and changed out of her armor, leaving her in her Water Tribe clothes once more. Once she had packed everything onto Naga's saddle, Korra took one last, lingering look over the house that had been her home for the past few months. Once she was finished, she mounted Naga, who stood up on her paws as her master clambered onto her back. Taking in a fortifying breath, tensing all of her toned muscles, Korra resolutely said, "We've got a boat to catch to Republic City, Naga." Whipping the reins in her hands, she let out a mighty "Yah!" Naga loosed a mighty bellow as she took off, the tiles underneath her paws shuddering as the Polar Bear-Dog raced towards the docks.

Katara watched from the alleyway as Korra raced by her, Naga panting hard as she pounded her way to the docks. Stepping out of the shadows, she smiled as she watched Korra ride off around the corner of a building. Touching a hand to her necklace, she looked up at the sky and lovingly said, "There she goes, Aang, off to fulfill her destiny, just like you did all those long years ago." The Waterbending Master let her gaze linger on the sky a little longer, imagining her always beloved husband smiling at her, before she stepped out of the alleyway and also made her way towards the docks…and towards home.

* * *

><p><strong>AUTHOR'S NOTE:<strong> I am currently working on the next chapter of "The Promise: Part One" and will upload it as soon as I can.


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